A crowd-puller all the way

Vintage pride

Right from his childhood, he was ‘crazy about cars’. President and CEO of Ramakrishna Group of Hospitals, PS Premnath is also the vice- president of Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club (KVCC). One of the founding members of the club, he is the proud owner of vintage and classic beauties — a 1937 Morris 8 and a 1960 Morris Minor.

“The Morris 8 belonged to my grandfather Major Narayanaswamy Chetty and it has been with us for five generations now,” Premnath says. His passion for the classic and vintage machines goes back in time and he recalls, “My grandfather bought this car for Rs 2,000 and I still have the invoice and the manuals.” A British economy car, inspired by the similar looking Ford Model Y, she has travelled to Tirupati and Mysuru. “I remember that eight of us could fit in with a little bit of adjustment. I was a ten-year-old boy then and we used to go to Nandi Hills in this car with my grandparents. There was space for the luggage too on the carriage near the rear wheel. Our trip was adventurous and it was a total different feel to drive in this beautiful vehicle.” A sturdy machine with all her Englishness, it was 15 years back that she was restored. But without a shadow of doubt, she is still in her youth and top-notch condition. She can even be a competition to the modern-day cars in terms of her strength. “I used to help my grandfather maintain this car then. He saw the passion in me and handed over the car’s complete responsibility to me,”  he says.

While his childhood was spent in this small car, his growing passion made him buy a beauty of his own, which is the 1960 Morris Minor (Morris 1000). “This car was restored by a Goan lady and I bought it from her,” he says. The love for these beauties also encouraged him to go large when he joined a group of like-minded people and started the KVCC in 1976. “It started with just six of us. Now we are a team of 250, with 500 registered cars under the club. It began with an aim to educate the youngsters about the technology used in these cars and now it has become a movement,” he says proudly.

The club that is encouraging enthusiasts to grow their love for vintage and classic cars is also noted to have brought in the lifetime tax for these cars with a token of just Rs 500.
The passion that he inherited from his grandfather is now passed on to his son and grandchildren. He comments on the credibility of these cars and says, “Technology in those days was marvellous. Today, though technology has evolved and has power, less pollution and more comfort, the cars last just for a period of five years. In the past, there were limited models and the cars were made to last forever with a strong body style.”
He also admits that he likes the attention while driving these cars and describes it as “welcoming”.

He adds, “The lorry drivers, bus drivers...everyone gives these cars a second look and people look forward to clicking pictures with them. This provides an added urge to drive them around.” He terms his passion an expensive affair due to the unavailability of the car parts, but agrees that they have their own old-world charm.

“I have a lot of sentiments attached to these cars, especially the Morris 8. They have a distinct design which is exciting. It is also an out-of-the-world experience to drive them if the traffic is not chaotic.”